Fenerbahce stun Liverpool 3-2 as late collapse exposes Iraola's squad depth gamble

Liverpool conceded three times from set-pieces to lose 3-2 to Fenerbahce in Istanbul, their first dropped points of the Champions League season and a second consecutive defeat in all competitions under Andoni Iraola.

The result was Liverpool’s worst since Iraola took charge, and it arrived in part because of the Spaniard’s calculated squad rotation. Starting a strikerless attack featuring Bradley Barcola, Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz, with Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo held in reserve, the plan quickly unravelled. Barcola, impressive from the left against Arsenal on Sunday, offered little in an unfamiliar central role, and Liverpool lacked a physical presence up front throughout the first half.

Iraola’s triple substitution — introducing Isak, Florian Wirtz and Gakpo — briefly appeared to rescue the situation when Isak headed in Gakpo’s cross to restore Liverpool’s lead. But the visitors collapsed late on, conceding twice to hand Dirk Kuyt’s side the win.

“Cheap goals. Messy goals,” Iraola said afterwards. Mason Greenwood’s deflected free-kick was unfortunate, but Archie Brown being lost at the back post from a corner was careless, and Vedat Muriqi rising unchallenged in the box from a long throw — surrounded by red shirts — was, in Iraola’s own framing, simply not good enough.

It was also the third time in three Champions League appearances that Liverpool had conceded three goals. They had previously switched off late while leading LASK in Austria, and made a dismal start against Villarreal at Anfield. The pattern of defensive lapses at set-pieces is becoming a concern.

Iraola defended his decision to make five changes from Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, pointing to a punishing schedule of six games in 18 days. The approach mirrored Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win against Chelsea the previous week, when first-choice attackers were introduced from the bench to close out the game. The difference in Istanbul was that changes were also made in defence, with Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas among those brought in, and the backline never found its footing.

The broader issue the result lays bare is the lopsided nature of Liverpool’s squad. Iraola has been forced to trust his depth across a congested fixture list, but the gulf in quality between his first-choice XI and his alternatives was exposed in full on a difficult night in Turkey. With the Champions League league phase offering limited jeopardy given Liverpool’s three wins from three, the defeat can be filed as a costly but instructive lesson — provided the defensive fragility is addressed before it becomes a defining problem.